Western and Southern Open 2022: Will Nadal Win His Fifth Title in Cincinnati? - Bookmaker Info: Your #1 Source for Online Gambling

The Western and Southern Open is the oldest professional tournament in the USA and the final Masters event before the mighty US Open starts at the end of this month. The century-old tournament is all set to take place in Cincinnati, Ohio and will be welcoming every top-tier player that you can imagine.

However, Novak Djokovic won’t be able to participate in the tournament as he is still unvaccinated against Covid-19 and thus, not able to travel to the United States. Additionally, last year’s champion Alexander Zverev won’t be able to defend his crown as he is still recovering from the ankle injury that he sustained during the French Open. Hopefully, we will see his return at the US Open.

The Cincinnati Masters is the final main tournament for the players to give themselves the edge and mental boost to prepare for the final grand slam of the year. The tournament will take place from the 15th to the 22nd of August. The first eight seeds have been given a first-round bye and will start their campaign in the second round.

Although we still won’t see the comeback of the seven-time champion Roger Federer, Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal will be looking to take the throne as the first and second seeds respectively.

※ Current Odds Date & Time: August 14th, 11:30 a.m. (GMT)

Daniil Medvedev is once again the favorite to take the title in Cincinnati. Online bookmaker Bwin has the Russian priced at 5.00, but he is closely followed by the Spaniard legend Rafael Nadal, who is priced at 6.00. Alcaraz is right behind Nadal at 6.50.

With odds this close and the lineup this intense, we can expect a close call in almost all of the matches. Kyrgios is next up on the list at 7.50. Kyrgios took both the singles and doubles titles at the Citi Open in Washington D.C. and has been playing at an insane level of late so we might see fatigue come into play and affect his performance at the Western and Southern Open.

For the top half, it doesn’t seem that Medvedev has an easy journey in front of him. The first seed has been given a first-round bye but he could face Maxime Cressy in the second round. As one of the favorites to win the tournament, he could lock horns with Denis Shapovalov and 16th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the upcoming rounds. Even with such heavy opponents, Medvedev is expected to win the early rounds to book a spot in the quarter-finals.

However, it’s not just Medvedev that we need to look out for. Andrey Rublev has been given a first-round bye as well and will probably start his campaign against Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the second round. However, it’s the Round of 16 that he needs to worry about as he could potentially face Nick Kyrgios if Taylor Fritz doesn’t defeat him first.

Kyrgios has already proven that he is a force to be reckoned with, and he might have the last laugh with Fritz. The Australian faced the Russian a few months ago at the Miami Masters where Kyrgios defeated Rublev and Rublev might be looking for some payback at this tournament. At this moment, we cannot say anything about who might win as Kyrgios has been playing a lot of matches lately, and given his fatigue, Rublev could get the best of him.

The fourth seed Tsitsipas will probably face Dan Evans in the second round, and we might get to see a showdown between Tsitsipas and Diego Schwartzman in the Round of 16. The Argentinian will play his opening match against Alex Molcan, which should be an easy win for Schwartzman. If he can get past Molcan, he will most likely face Aslan Karatsev in the second round.

Provided that Schwartzman reaches the Round of 16, we might see a thrilling encounter between Tsitsipas and Schwartzman, especially after the performance that they showed against each other in Monte-Carlo. The Greek will not be going down without a fight and he might be able to book his spot in the quarter-finals.

8th seed Hubert Hurkacz is in amazing form, which is evident by his performance at the Canadian Open where he is all set to play in the finals. Matteo Berrettini will have a first-round thriller against Frances Tiafoe and might have another showdown against Karen Khachanov in the second round. Hubert Hurkacz could meet Karen Khachanov in the Round of 16.

Moving on to the bottom half, we have the second seed and another favorite to win the tournament in Rafael Nadal. He might face Borna Coric in the second round and it will be a piece of cake for the Spaniard to reach the Round of 16 where he might face Francisco Cerundolo or Roberto Bautista Agut. Irrespective of whoever he faces, Nadal should be able to come out on top and reach the quarter-finals.

Then we have the Canadian Open quarter-finalist in Felix Auger-Aliassime who might face Jannik Sinner in the Round of 16. Pablo Carreno Busta could give Sinner a good run for his money, especially after his spectacular performance at the Canadian Open where he will play for the title against Hurkacz. The Italian youngster should be able to come out on top if he reduces his unforced errors and maintains his footwork though. Between Felix and Jannik, the Italian is favored to defeat the Canadian and book a spot in the quarter-finals.

The fifth seed Casper Ruud has shown us his wonderful form at the Canadian Open where he reached the semi-finals and produced some wonderful tennis against Hurkacz. The Norwegian is having a sensational season this year and might be one of the best of his career, which is why we can say that he is a player to definitely watch in Cincinnati.

The third seed Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz will probably face Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second round. The teen sensation shouldn’t face any trouble in reaching the Round of 16 where he will most likely face Marin Cilic. The Spaniard has the odds in his favor, and we might get to see a classic showdown pitting Carlos against Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals.

Looking ahead, we have on our hands two potential exciting semi-finals seeing Tsitsipas against Medvedev and Alcaraz taking on his childhood hero in Rafael Nadal, this time on a hard court. Tsitsipas and Medvedev have some inconsistencies in their game, but both of them might want to work on their stance and much-needed momentum before starting their campaign in the US Open.

Medvedev has an upper edge against the Greek and will most likely be the first finalist at the Western and Southern Open. Although Alcaraz had an incredible season on clay and defeated his idol Nadal, he has been unable to prove his worth on the hard court so far. Nadal will take full advantage of the situation and we expect him to breeze easily into the finals.

Gearing up for the US Open later this month, it can be expected of Medvedev to work on his weaknesses as he ascends into the later rounds in Cincinnati. If he is able to make it to the finals and face-off against Nadal, defeating the Spaniard will give Medvedev a much-needed boost just in time for the last major of the season.

With that said, the Spaniard will be looking to make his comeback after he had to withdraw from the Wimbledon semi-finals due to injury. If Nadal is consistent in his performance and doesn’t face any injuries, we can expect him to take home his 5th Cincinnati Open title.

The main-draw matches are all set to take place from Monday the 15th and the final is scheduled for Monday the 22nd. The winner will take home 1000 points and a check for $970,020.